I am a secondary school principal, currently the manager of the Web Filter Unit in the IT Directorate of the NSW Department of Education. I am exploring the use of web 2.0 applications in teaching and learning in secondary education. Tools for media sharing, social networking and social bookmarking for classroom use are of particular interest. Issues of online collaboration, privacy and safety for students are of great concern.

Elaine's Top 10 Tools as at 10 August 2009

1. Twitter

2. igoogle

3. Google reader

4. slideshare

5. del.icio.us

6. Blogger

7. wikispaces

8. Google alerts

9. Firefox

10. Snapz

Elaine's Top 10 Tools as at  30 October 2008

1. My personalised igoogle page is my start page. I have almost everything I need connected to this page. It seems that there is something new from google each week that enhances my web 2.0 experience.
2. Google reader is an absolutely phenomenal aggregator. This is another of my main source of web 2.0 updates daily. I use the same search terms for each of the tools I use, only expanding them as new concepts and tools appear out of the "blue sky"
3. Twitter is my new favourite. Microblogging is the key. Less is more in this fabulous information sharing space. So many nifty Twitter clients add heaps of value.
4. My slideshare space and groups are also a fundamental part of my research and networking. This site is for sharing powerpoint slideshows and much more. It is used by a number of web gurus across the world and for this reason alone is worth the time. I enjoy receiving posts from users and seeing the number of users my groups’ attract increase.
5. My del.icio.us space is posted numerous times each day. I have found tools that link del.icio.us to some of my other favourites and this I hope will be very useful.
6. I have set up a blog using Blogger and use this as a reflection tool. I like the ease of using Google share to link to expert blog posts and add my comments.
7. My wikispace wiki has been a wonderful tool to collect and collate my many valuable web finds. The page set up allows the visitor to explore my finds and web 2.0 learning journey.
8. Google alerts into my email box each day, provides me with links to articles, blog posts and so on according to my search terms. I have set up about 5 alerts and it is very manageable.
9. I wouldn’t go very far in cyberspace without a browser. I am enjoying using Firefox and its various add-ons.
10. I use a little tool on my Mac called Snapz to snap little pictures out of web pages and other documents. This is the best way to create graphics for presentations.

BTW, I could extend my interest in edmodo too.

Elaine's Top 10 Tools as at 18 March 2008

1. My personalised igoogle page is my start page.  I have almost everything I need connected to this page. It seems that there is something new from google each week that enhances my web 2.0 experience.

2. Google reader is an absolutely phenomenal aggregator. This is another of my main source of web 2.0 updates daily. I use the same search terms for each of the tools I use, only expanding them as new concepts and tools appear out of the “blue sky”

3. Google alerts into my email box each day, provides me with links to articles, blog posts and so on according to my search terms. I have set up about 5 alerts and it is very manageable.

4. My slideshare space and groups are also a fundamental part of my research and networking. This site is for sharing powerpoint slideshows and much more. It is used by a number of web gurus across the world and for this reason alone is worth the time. I enjoy receiving posts from users and seeing the number of users my groups’ attract increase.

5. My del.icio.us space is posted numerous times each day. I have found tools that link del.icio.us to some of my other favourites and this I hope will be very useful.

6. My wikispace wiki has been a wonderful tool to collect and collate my many valuable web finds. The page set up allows the visitor to explore my finds and web 2.0 learning journey.

7. I have set up a blog using Blogger and use this as an occasional reflection tool.  I am enjoying linking other tools to my blog.

8. I enjoy creating Powerpoint slideshows for presentations and sharing them on Slideshare. It is important for me to give back to this brilliant resource.

9. I wouldn’t go very far in cyberspace without a browser. I am enjoying using Firefox at the moment.

10. I use a little tool on my Mac called Snapz to snap little pictures out of web pages and other documents.  This is the best way to create graphics for presentations.